Heiress Unleashed
by JaceHeronduck
Summary: I was always a good girl. Always did what daddy said. Always took to heart what mommy would tell me to steer clear of. But I can't promise anything now. Now, it's my turn to make these people suffer. For killing my family. I just need to make it past this guy. Clary Fray is an average teen, or so she wished. Being the President's daughter had many disadvantages, but not anymore. AH
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter song: Buzzcut Season- Lorde**

I woke up to the sound of peace and quiet. I lived in the 5th basement floor of the white house. Of course, being daddy's little princess, I had Jace and Alec and Magnus and Simon as my body guards. I just wished that daddy wouldn't have been so stupid as to give his sixteen year old daughter, four beautiful men of the same age. Not that I would do anything to them of course. "Magnus," I hissed, sticking my head out the door.

The oriental twenty year old looked back at me from his position outside my door. He stood guard watching the hallways along with Alec. Jace and Simon patrolled the hallways, guns loaded. "Yes, Miss Morgenstern?" Magnus asks.

I smile and gesture him into my room. Right as the door closes he sits on the edge of the bed and slumps forward, kicking his up on the bed. "Maggie, it's just me, remember?" I ask.

He smiles. "Yes, but if anyone were to catch me looking informal on the job, I'd be screwed into next century." He tells me.

I laugh. "Mags, you know my dad listens to everything I say right? I could have gotten your job back for you." I tell him.

Magnus smiles, "Thanks Clare Bear. Now, what did you want me in here for?" He asks.

"I need an outfit for the trip to New York today." I tell him. I hated going out in public. It just made me upset and jealous. Yeah, I'm the President's daughter, but I don't have any freedom. Ironic right? Apparently, there are people who hate daddy, even though he's the best President we've ever had, and so dad told me that people would be lucky to catch his little "princess". So I'm not allowed out of the house without Jace, Simon, Alec, and Magnus surrounding me.

Magnus nods and gets to work, while I sit back on my elbows. There's a knock on my door and when I open it, I see the other three beautiful men standing behind the door. Simon is average height with lean arms and toned legs and a muscular chest and stomach area. He has brown curly hair and chocolate eyes. He's pale, with a few freckles dotting his arms.

Alec is lean all over, but he's almost awkwardly tall. His jet black hair and bright blue eyes set everything about him off, making him beautiful in a way you almost can't touch. He's like art in an art exhibit. Not that I've ever been to one.

Jace is another story. He's been with my dad since before we came to the white house. Jace was always quiet around my family. My dad loved him though, because Jace worked for him back on the farm in Kentucky. My dad would come home around two in the morning with the cold biting his cheeks and nose, and he would always talk about how hard Jace worked, and the jokes he cracked. Jace would occasionally sleep on our couch, but he had always been gone by the morning. He had gold hair, nothing less, nothing more. His eyes matched, almost the color of liquid gold or molten. His skin was bronze, and you had to wonder if he was part Columbian. I'd never spoken to him. I'd never talked to him, yet I trusted him with my life, because my daddy does.

I clear my throat. "Hello boys, can I help you?" I ask formally.

Jace averted his eyes, while the other two looked straight at me. "Just doing our job Mis-Clary." Alec corrected himself.

I smile at them as I pick up the clothes Magnus laid out. "Alright, well, I'll just be in the bathroom then." I say. When I get in, I quickly change my clothes. I pull on a fitted, almost skin tight, light red-brown tee shirt, and blue ripped skinny jeans. I put a black skinny belt around my waist, over my tee shirt, and slip on my black, studded, form fitting leather jacket. I straighten my hair so it lays pin straight down to my middle back, and I apply black eyeliner and mascara. I pull on my black, knee high boots and walk back out into my room. "Thanks, Mags." I tell him.

He smiles back, and him and Alec leave. I turn to the boys. "How are you two?" I ask.

Jace just nods, but Simon smiles, and twirls me around. "We're awesome Clare Bear. The perfect job, watching the most perfect little bitch." He teases.

I laugh easily. "Oh, Simon… So when does the plane leave?" I ask.

Jace checks his watch. "In an hour." He says curtly.

I raise an eyebrow at him. "How are you, Jace?" I ask. He only ever gives me short answers, averting his eyes almost every time ours meet.

He looks in my eyes for a solid five seconds, and then looks down and away from me. "I'm just doing my job Miss." He tells me.

I frown. "Are you afraid of me?" I tease him.

His head snaps up to mine, his eyes locking with mine. "I am most definitely _not_ afraid of _you._" He tells me.

I raise my eyebrows. "Then why can't you look at me? Why have we never had a conversation before?" I ask him, a little harshly.

Jace just shakes his head. "I'm trying to be a good help for your father. He deserves it. If it weren't for him I most definitely wouldn't be here. I'm here strictly for business, and you need to respect that." He tells me.

Simon whistles low and long. "Wow, the sexual tension in this room can be cut with a bread knife." He says.

I point to the door. "Out!" I say, and Simon leaves. I turn to Jace. "You can go with him too, Jace. Oh, and I appreciate your honesty." I tell him.

He hesitates, then sighs and leaves, seeming frustrated and unsatisfied.

The plane ride lasts about an hour, and by eight thirty, we are landing. We get out of air force one, and my dad kisses my head, my brother hugging me, as they both leave to go to the south world trade center building for their meeting.

I sigh. They always head out without a word to me, and are gone for ridiculous hours. Beside and behind me stand my guards. I just wish I had a friend to talk to. I huff, and a cloud comes from my mouth and disappears. I rub my hands together against the freezing weather. I turn around, willing the tears in my eyes to go away. "Alright boys, lets hit the club." I say.

Magnus laughs, Simon snorts, and Alec even smirks. Jace just looks solemn. He's such an emotionless idiot. How does my dad like him? We all make our way to the club near the building of my dad's meeting. Along the way, a boy bumps my arm. He's got brown hair and green eyes. "Hey," He smiles, "I'm Jordan." He says. He looks up and down my body, shamelessly checking me out. "You are?" He asks.

Before he has time to make that sentence sound like a question, his body is thrown into the wall of the nearest building, and Jace is pinning him to it, twisting his arm around his back. "Jace!" I shriek.

He lets go of Jordan after shoving him away. He whirls on me, his face looking livid. "Jace!" I shriek again. "How could you? He was just talking to me!" I shout.

Jace's mouth twitches in anger. "He was checking you out!" he snarls.

I squint at him. "So?" I ask.

He just shakes his head. "That is not my job. I'm not going to let a guy hit on you and disrespect you like that." He says.

I scoff. "Well it's not your job to ruin my social life!" I yell. I notice Jace squinting up into the sky above me. His eyes suddenly widen. "Jace, are you even listening to- Jace!" I shriek as he hoists me into his arms and takes off running in the opposite direction. That's when I hear the boom, and the sirens and the screams. Alec and Magnus and Simon are behind us. I see the building where my dad's meeting was crumble down to nothing. I'm screaming hysterically, frozen tears streaming down my face. "No! Dad! Jon!" I shriek, my nose running, my eyes spilling every ounce of liquid in my body. I bury my face in Jace's warm neck. He's breathing hard and sniffling, and when I look up, I see him shedding tears also. "J-Jace?" I whisper.

He bites his trembling lip and turns down an ally. He shoves me in the corner between two buildings, and holds me tightly to his chest, his body caving around me in a protective shell. Magnus is hovering over me too, and Alec and Simon are keeping watch with trembling knees. "Jace," I whisper. I need to know why he's crying as much as I am.

He kisses my forehead, leaving his lips against it for a long while. "We're okay, Clare, you'll be okay too." He says. He strokes my hair as Magnus rubs my back.

Right before I drift off, I hear the boom of the North Twin Tower collapsing, and feel Jace tense, and hug me even tighter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, next chapter. I hope you liked my last chapter, and I realy hope you like this one. Its descriptave of the setting BTW. Also, a little bit of relationship building.**

**Chapter song: 400 Lux~ Lorde**

* * *

**Chapter 2: A new home for Clary?**

When I awake, I'm lying on a metal examination table. Beside me, Jace lies, and beyond that is Simon, Magnus, and Alec. Nurses wearing white walk around while chattering obnoxiously about me being the President's daughter. A man wearing a lab coat with greying hair and wire rimmed glasses looks at my confused face for a minute. He turns back to the nurses. "Let them go. They no longer need to be harassed." He tells them.

The nurses look at me pitifully. I know what they are thinking. That poor innocent, kindhearted, obedient little girl didn't deserve all of this. Well, to hell with that, and to hell with them. I don't need their pity. The rest of America has got them covered.

The nurses leave, and that split moment between their departure and Jace's awakening, I make up my mind. No longer will Clarissa Morgenstern- the good child- exist. No, I will become Clary Fray- the rebel who bounced back after her family's detonation. I always liked Fray better. It was my mother's last name. But they got divorced a long time ago. My mother would contact me occasionally, bragging about how she's climbing mountains, jumping out of planes, cliff diving, and swimming with sharks, while I was stuck in the biggest house in America- yet the most confining.

"Clary," Jace croaks. He looks around, and then shoots up. "Where are we?" He shouts, panicked.

I shrug. "I don't know… but," I stand up and rip out the IV lines and tearing the heart monitor pads away from my arm and chest. Jace just stares, as if mesmerized at how strong and unfazed I am. "People get over things differently. Mine is acting like I don't give a fuck. Fake it until you make it. Either you're in, or you're out. Either is fine with me." I say stripping off my gown right in front of him, and pulling on my previous outfit.

Jace just smiles and raises an eyebrow. "I think I could get used to this new Clare pretty quickly." He says with a wink.

I just roll my eyes and waltz over to Magnus, jolting him in the side to wake him. I do the same to the other two boys and they look at me curiously. I explain to them that I'm going to live my life like I've always wanted, not caring and just going with it, and they smile and imitate my actions of removing the contraptions and changing when I turn away.

Jace is the first to stand by my arm. He glances at me sideways, his eyebrow slightly cocked, and leans into me. "If you ever need to drop the act for a while, I'll be here." He tells me cautiously.

The other boys join me and we walk out of the building. I turn and see that it was the New York CIA institute. I never knew they had a hospital there.

The boys and I roam the streets for the rest of the day. We then head to the LaGuardia Airport and get on a private jet. I'll still be able to live carelessly, just in a bit of style.

Later that night we all land in Kansas. Simon, Alec, and Magnus turn towards the plane ticket kiosk to buy tickets to their homes in different states. Jace bites his lip and turns to me. "You can go back to your farm if you want to." He tells me.

I give up the careless act for a second. "I'd rather not." I tell him.

Jace smiles and leads me out to the cab that he called. The ride takes about an hour, but we finally reach a large house. By large, I mean absolutely huge. Jace just grins. "Welcome to my bachelor pad." He says.

I just stare. A few hours ago we might as well have been enemies. But now he was offering me his home to live in. It stands looking as if it has a floor and a half of a second story. It's a stone house and is beige with an occasional darker tan stone. The gutters are dark brown, outlining the roofs. The door is a chestnut color with three frosted windows running down it, the other door a foe one. To the right is an octagonal wall with huge windows in each wall. To the left is a smaller version of the main entrance, only instead of the doors, there is also huge windows. All of it is trimmed in dark brown. Inside the lights glow warmly, and a porch light casts against the house, making its color appear richer. The driveway is curved in a half moon in front of it. The lawn is perfectly manicured, and a beautiful oak tree sits to the left of the house. I just about shit my pants. "This is gorgeous!" I exclaim.

Jace laughs. "It's your home until you want to leave. It kind of gets lonely with only the maid and the cook." He says sadly. He opens the door and I gasp. The entry way is tall, up to the second floor ceiling, and across it is a hallway for the second story. There is a crystal chandelier hanging down to the halfway point. The walls are a light brown, the flooring a dark wood.

Straight ahead is the living room and kitchen. "Welcome to the green room." Jace says. The walls are an avocado green, and the couches are a fabric white sectional. There are green throw pillows with brown stripes. The fire place is beautiful, a white brick running up to the roof, and the sixty inch flat screen is mounted in the stones.

The kitchen is a pale, dull blue, with stainless steel appliances and dark granite counter tops. The chairs and tables are dark wood, and the floor is light wood. "This is a room that I never really used. It practically belongs to the cook, Isabelle." He explains.

He leads me up the stairs. There are two bedrooms with a bathroom down the hall. The first bedroom is white with black comforters and sleek, black wood furniture. One of the walls is all glass, with huge silver curtains to cover it. "This is my room."

When we reach the second room I drop my bag in shock. The room is white, and there are shelves built into the wall framing the bed, that are brown. Above the bed is a huge black and white photo of a city. The bed is king sized with brown sheets and a brown comforter with a gold design on it. There are two floating nightstands with a white lamp on each, and the wall that the bed is nestled in has a mirror wall. The floors are dark wood with a very fuzzy white rug. A wire sculpted chandelier hangs above the bed. There's a desk space with a white egg chair in front of it, and an attached bathroom. The room is huge, with huge furniture, but the colors make it feel warm and homey.

I turn to Jace. "It's really nice." I say.

He smiles. "Good because it's usually mine, but I'm letting you take the master." He admits.

I scowl. "I don't want to take your room away from you!" I protest.

He grins. "Then we can share a room." He suggests.

I just roll my eyes.

I toss and turn with tear stains on my cheeks. I took a shower when Jace left and fell into bed. I thought I'd at least get a head start on delayed sleep. But now all hope was lost. I lay on my back, staring out into the hall into Jace's bedroom. I see a dark lump steadily rising and falling, and hear deep breaths. I sigh. He's asleep already; I should have talked to him earlier. I bury my head in my pillow and groan a bit loud.

"Dreaming of me?" a voice says from the doorway.

I freeze, and turn slowly towards the door. Against it leans a blonde headed man around six foot high. "Jace? I thought you were asleep." I admit.

He chuckles. "Waiting until I'm in oblivion to start your dirty dreaming, huh?" he asks with another deep chuckle.

I roll my eyes again, something I find myself doing often as I become more associated with the man at my threshold. "If only I could actually get some sleep." I grumble.

Jace claps once, and the lamps by the bed turn on. His face is serious now. He walks toward me and sits on the edge of the bed. "You too?" he asks.

I only nod in reply.

He sighs. "I don't blame you. Something like today will be stuck in our minds forever. We'll always remember it, but others won't see it like we do." He says, slumping a little. "To them they lost the leader of their country. But we lost something greater." He says.

My head snaps up to meet his eyes. They're beautiful, just like the rest of him, and I think it's the first time I realize that he isn't just a bodyguard or a secret service man. He's a boy. He had a life, but he chose to be loyal to my father. "Thank you," I whisper.

Jace shakes his head. "I don't understand," he whispers back.

I shrug. "You were loyal to my father. I always used to think that you were some serious, heartless teenager who took his job way too seriously. At first I thought you were forced into the job, you seemed so dedicated, like your life depended on it." I tell him.

He shrugs. "My life did depend on it. I never told you how your father came to know me, and I'm guessing, by what you just said, that your father never told you either. I used to take nothing seriously. I used to say 'screw the rules, just give me excitement'. I did things for pleasure and disregarded safety. I would get around- but my looks probably gave that away- with other women. I used to brag about winning girls, winning drinking contests," He laughs humorlessly. "And even getting thrown out of the most bars." He says. "But it all ended with that one night. I was in a bar- shocker, right?- and I was... heavily drunk. A man tried to move in on my date, and that was my last straw. I through the man over the bar, smashing god knows what horrible acid over his head, and threw the girl down with him. I had held broken glass up to the man's throat, but the police and security were there by then. They threw me out. It was the 37th bar I'd been banned from. I passed out by a curb on the way home. When I woke, I was in an old red pickup truck. Can you guess whose that was?" he asks softly.

I twist my lips to the side. "My father," I whispered.

Jace nodded, tucking loose hair behind my ear. "Yes. He rescued me. He brought me to my house. I probably gave him my address in my drunken haze. He stayed with me, helped me bathe, gave me coffee, even brought me to bed. I was fourteen at the time. It was illegal for any of that to happen. He could have called the cops, turned me in, but he didn't. The next morning I was alone. Just when I thought I'd dreamed up everything, there were two pieces of evidence. You father left me a note with his name and his phone number and his address." He says.

I nod. "And the second evidence?" I ask.

He smiles. "My massive hangover." He tells me. "I called him, explaining how grateful I was. I owed him everything I had for protecting me and my future. He offered me a job cutting down Christmas trees and working in the wood shop for the store. And the rest," he trails off, poking my nose. "You were there to remember." He says.

I smile. "That's what my dad did." I say, grinning. "He saved poor helpless little assholes." I smirk.

Jace just raises his eyebrows. "Isn't that the truth? Ever since then I've never laid my hand on another drink, cigarette, drug, or even woman. I quit dating, quit flirting… I changed." He says. "I became that serious workaholic that you knew because I owed your father. He used to have to stop me from saying thank you like I did every day. I was your father's servant from that next day forward. He became my friend a while after. He would stay until closing in the shop with me. Then he would close up for me. He would work alongside me, and drive me home, and pick me up, and he'd pull all-nighters on stock night. He was like my father." He whispers.

I bite my lip. "I never knew." I breathe.

Jace looks towards me. "There's plenty that you don't know about Me." he says.

I smile softly. "I'd like to change that." I say.

Jace takes a deep breath. "There are some things I might never be able to tell you. But I definitely would like to know more about my father figure's daughter." He says with a smile.

I suck in a breath. "I don't like cheese." I say in a rush.

Jace looks at me like I'm a moron, and then laughs. "Not what I meant, but it's a start." He laughs.

I hold up my arms. "Alright, alright… What do friends have to know about each other?" I ask.

He smirks. "The deep stuff."

I cock my head. "The deep stuff, huh?" I ask.

He nods. "Oh yes, very deep."

"Like what?"

"Like your favorite color."

I smirk. "Oh now you've just crossed the line." I giggle.

He shoves me lightly. "Are you alright now? You good to sleep?" he asks.

I shake my head. "Stay with me?" I ask.

Jace raises an eyebrow. "Alright, but have you been using my soap?" he asks as we settle in. We lay on our backs, no part of our bodies touching.

I just nod and he claps to turn off the lamps. My breath catches as he grasps for my hand under the sheets. Its big, and warm, and it fills me up with a since of comfort, knowing I won't be alone. I sigh and begin to drift off. Just as I'm about to doze off, I speak. "My favorite color is gold."


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, I'm sorry, but i think this is the best chapter i've ever written in my life... If you think it sucks, I'm sorry because you must hate my writing... But believe it or not, this chapter is HUGE in the plot, so it's not just fluffy stuff. Its good stuff in the form of fluff.. Just remember, Clace are just friends right now, nothing more, so don't get the wrong idea in this chapter. Thanks guys! hope u like it at much as i loved writing this chapter! ****_R&R your thoughts on this and my other chapters._**

* * *

It's been two months since I moved in with Jace after 9/11. Since then we've gotten closer to each other, even deepening our friendship. After all, it does get really lonely in the house in the secluded country side of Kansas. Isabelle turned out to be a very nice girl, and the three of us go out on weekends to walk around town, much like we are now. The only difference is that Isabelle is flying out to meet with her boyfriend for thanksgiving this week. So, Jace and I are alone in the house. We haven't got much to do around here, resulting in going house crazy and being restless. So I finally pulled Jace off of his Armani covered ass and dragged him to the store in the heart of town.

"Clary, I have to find a job," Jace whines.

I just laugh. "Jay," I use my nickname for him, "what are you wearing right now? You spoiled little bastard." I tease.

He rolls his eyes and leans on the grocery cart, pushing it along with his elbows. "These happen to be hand-me-downs from last season." He retorts.

I snort. "Hand-me-downs from your millionaire aunt don't count. For crying out loud, Jace, you should bond with her more, we could be covered for the next thirty years!" I exclaim.

Jace stops pushing the cart as I look at the cans of soup, searching for the cream of mushroom for the chicken pot pie tonight. "You're staying for thirty years?" he asks.

I swallow. "Well, I just don't know how to live normally. I-I guess if you wanted me to leave, I could go." I say awkwardly. I hadn't meant to suggest anything. I rub my hand over my face. What am I thinking? Jace knows how to be normal. He's going to grow up, find a girlfriend, make her his wife, and have kids. I'll only be in the way. "I shouldn't have said that. Of course I won't be staying that long, we're growing up. Look, it was just a metaphor for 'you're family is fucking rich' okay?" I explain myself. I throw in the soup can and move down the aisle. I'm hyper aware of the squeaking of wheels coming from behind me and to the left a bit.

Jace clears his throat. "So, what's next on that mile long list?" he asks.

I grin, knowing full well he'll hate the next items. He'd eaten my pot pies million times before; I just didn't tell him what was in it. "We need peas and lima beans." I mutter.

Jace straightens up and pales. He looks like he's about to be sick. "Y-you're a monster. My best friend is a total monster. You could have killed me." he squeaks out purposefully being a drama queen.

I smirk. "But is it good? Don't lie, I caught you last time at midnight eating the leftovers." I accuse.

He sighs and rolls his eyes. "Yes, but if you ever try to feed me vegetables again…" he trails off.

I get the point though. "We'll see. Now don't be a weenie and go get me the veggies." I say.

Jace just snorts. "Believe me, I'm not a weenie. But I got one." He winks.

"Jace Christopher, what am I going to do with you!" I laugh.

He waggles his eyebrows. "Throw me against the shower wall." He says simply.

I just raise a brow. From the corner of my eye I see an old couple looking horrified at us. "Nice try, Wayland, now go get me the veggies." I demand triumphantly.

Jace sulks over to the veggies at the end of the aisle.

Meanwhile, I turn towards the old couple. "I'm sorry about him, he's not a shopper." I say politely.

The woman just chuckles. "It's quite alright. Just keep that boyfriend of yours under control like you already do." She grins.

Behind me, Jace drops the can of lima beans and busts out laughing.

I roll my eyes. "He's not my boyfriend, just a very, immature, conceited best friend." I say, and Jace stops laughing.

* * *

Back home I finish mixing the ingredients and slide the pie in the oven. I hear the bathroom sink running upstairs and I grin. It's time for payback.

I grab a can of whipped cream and head upstairs. I listen at the door, and I only hear running water, hopefully Jace is just washing his hands. I bust open the door just as the water shuts off.

"What are you- oomph!" Jace grunts as he's thrown up against the silver and black shower tiles. His eyes are wide, his breathing heavy. "You scared the hell outta me Red!" he exclaims.

I smirk. "Poor Jay, want me to make you feel better?" I whisper seductively.

Jace's face goes slack, his jaw dropping, and his eyelids falling half open. He's shocked, but above the initial shock is a very turned on Jace. When I pull the whipped cream from behind my back, Jace visibly swallows.

I pull my face closer to his, all the while undoing the cap of the cream. When he leans in towards me, I spray him in the face with the whipped cream. And hell yes, you bet it's a full can.

Jace growls and uses his shirt to wipe it out of his eyes. He then tosses the shirt off of him and lunges at me.

I shriek, and push the nozzle again, this time nailing him in the chest.

But he reaches behind me and pulls away with a can of his shaving cream. "It's so on, Red." He says as he squirts me in my chest. He holds me against him with one arm, my back to his chest, and he douses my head in the shaving cream.

I defend myself by attempting to squirt him back. He ducks and loses grip of me. We squirt each other, but half of the time we miss.

I accidentally get some in his open closet door. I stifle a laugh as he pales and rushes in to see the damage. He returns with his Luis Vuitton suede jacket. He looks menacing.

He chucks it aside and rushes at me, pinning me against the wall. He squirts the majority of his shaving cream at me. He covers almost every inch of me with it.

I turn on the water faucet and splash the freezing water at him.

We both are laughing as hard as we both shriek like little kids. The shaving cream fight soon develops into a full on creamy water war.

We're slipping and sliding in our cream covered socks, and Jace hits his head on the sink, but he gets up looking red with laughter.

* * *

Jace and I stand inside the bathroom a few minutes later, glancing around at the mess.

There are hand prints in the cream covering the mirror, there's water all over the floor mixing with the creams and resulting in a milky substance, and the shower is completely white with cream. Jace sighs. "The one thing I don't have in the house is a maid. The one thing!" he says in disbelief.

I chuckle, and he looks at me. His eyes get wide. "Don't move," he commands gently.

I freeze. "What is it?" I ask.

He grabs a towel, and I'm expecting him to have to kill a bug on my shoulder. He wipes the towel carefully along the crevice between my eyebrow and eye lid. "Shaving cream in the eye hurts like a bitch." He says.

I smile. "Then thanks for saving me from the bitch pain." I giggle.

He smiles, and drags the towel along the tile floor. He shucks off his socks and pants, wipes off his hands and face and hair, and turns to me, standing in black Emporio Armani boxer briefs and his Rolex watch. "I'm going to get the mop, could you maybe run the shower and get everything off of the walls?" he asks.

I nod and he disappears. I smile at the mess in the shower. It was so fun just being able to let loose and act like children. This was what childhood was supposed to be like, and we were figuring it out together. I really love watching Jace. Wait? What? Oh, fuck it. I'm not some shy cliché princess. I'm in deep, careless, maybe even reckless love with my best friend, and I'm not going to freak out about what happens in life. I draw a huge heart in the cream of the wall, and swipe my hands through it. I close the glass shower door and turn on the water, rinsing both myself and the wall free of whipped cream and shaving cream.

Jace walks in at that time and wordlessly begins mopping up the mess. I notice his ears are turned pink, just like when I made that thirty years comment while we were shopping for the pot pie.

I gasp. "Oh crap!" I shout. I jump out of the shower and wrap a towel around my soaked clothes. Jace just laughs as I dart down to the kitchen and take out the well done pie.

I sigh in relief. It actually doesn't look too bad. I walk back upstairs and change into dry clothes. I also go into Jace's room and get him some black, grey and blue shorts, and a white tee. I close my eyes, reach into his underwear drawer, and pull out new underwear for him. I don't open my eyes until the underwear are at the bottom of his pile. I don't look more for my sake then his. I'd feel like a pervert if I went through my best friend's underwear. It didn't matter anyway. It would hopefully remain under his clothes.

I fight the blush that comes to my face of the image of Jace in boxer _briefs_. I roll my eyes at my girly side. I shouldn't get excited and so turned on about that. I groan and force the blush away. I walk back into the bathroom to find Jace in the shower still in his boxers thank god. "I'll put your clothes on the toilet seat, I have to clean up the sink!" I call over the water.

Jace turns off the water. "Okay, thanks by the way." He says.

I keep my eyes trained on the mirror, and whipping it off. It too was coated with whipped cream. It's almost crystal clear when Jace suddenly decides to change his underwear. I'm so in shock that I don't look away. He's only exposed for a millisecond, before he jumps into his new boxer briefs, these white for fucks sake. I'm biting my lip praying that he didn't catch me. I surprisingly don't blush- well crap, right as I think that I begin to blush.

After I put the cleaner under the sink I turn around and Jace is staring at me, looking a bit pale. _He. Saw. Me. He thinks I was staring!_ I mentally freak out.

He coughs and begins blushing furiously. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he opens them he smiles. "Is dinner saved?" he asks simply.

* * *

It's been three days since the bathroom wars and Jace and I were back to being bored around the house. Jace didn't work right now, but eventually he would have to, so he's been taking online courses in collage. He only takes them when he feels like it, and you can tell he's in no hurry to work.

I on the other hand am not even considering working. I've never been to high school and haven't even gotten my driver's license yet. I'd like to get my license soon, and I'll need to drive eventually. I haven't even had one of those crappy minimum wage jobs that everyone always complains about, and I'm not going to start now.

I lay on my bed, well Jace's bed that he forced me to use while I stay here, in my given room and scroll through dresses online. Jace told me he is attending a formal Thanksgiving on the Tuesday before with his family. He said the actual Thanksgiving would most likely be at Magnus and Alec's house. He invited me along to both dinners insisting that the house is creepy when you're the only one in it. I secretly think he's just trying to ask me to be his date without having to face awkward rejection. Not that I'd reject him.

I let out a sigh as my bedroom door opens. Jace pokes his head in. "Done with homework, hopefully you're not doing anything important, cause I need some entertainment." He says.

I roll my eyes. "What is this? A booty call?" I joke.

Jace sighs and closes the door behind him on the way in. He leaps onto his stomach beside me, jostling the whole bed as I giggle. He looks over my shoulder and smirks. "You really hate dresses don't you?" He asks.

"No?" I say confused.

He ruffles my hair, loosening the braid. "Then why the pissy mood, Red?" he jokes.

I roll my eyes, something I find myself doing a lot. "I'm looking for your stupid family thanksgiving dress! I have to impress them! I don't want them to see me in an ordinary princess dress and think I'm a hobo!" I exclaim, frustrated.

Jace laughs, rolling around on his back. He eventually stops and gazes up at me with sparkling golden eyes. He lies on his back and flicks at my braid. "Then let me take you shopping. That, or we can look like hobos together." He offers.

I bite my lip. "You'd take me shopping?" I ask.

He smiles. "My stores always have sexy girls there Clare, don't think I'm doing this just for you." He says.

I scoff. "Ever the teenager." I say. "Alright," I sigh getting off the bed and shutting my lap top. I pull on my combat boots, and walk over to a mirror. I fix my braid and go over my outfit that I love to death. I'm wearing a roll up plaid shirt, black and red, and short denim shorts over black leggings. My combat boots cover my ankles and overlap the warm leggings. I pull on a long grey cardigan and my knit light grey hat. I turn back to Jace.

He's standing behind me with an eyebrow raised up. "Why do you wear so many layers? You're going to try on dresses and model for me anyway." he says.

"I'd rather have to constantly remove layers than be paralyzed in a hospital with pneumonia." I retort.

Jace smirks. "I didn't know people were paralyzed when they have pneumonia. I could swear that didn't happen when I had it." He jokes.

"Unclean! Unclean!" I shriek, going along with the act.

Jace rolls his eyes, fixes his dark grey skinny jeans and blue and grey plaid shirt, and follows me down the stairs in his leather jacket.

We pull up at Neiman Marcus the formal wear store that's totally above any normal human's price range, and walk inside. Women surround Jace and I, and eventually they disperse leaving one woman standing. Praise god she's an older woman with slicked back hair in a ponytail and a business suit on. "Welcome," she says elegantly.

Jace clears his throat. "My friend needs a formal dress for Thanksgiving dinner." He says.

She smiles at him. "Of course, follow me to the back of the store. I warn you though, these are the petite sections, so some things might be intended for, well, teenagers." She says.

Jace grins. "Perfect," he mutters, earning a slap from me.

* * *

I groan as I observe all of the dresses in the room. There are five of them, all picked out by Jace, and he wants to see me in all of them. I shimmy out of my layers, silently cursing myself for not listening to Jace. I should have gone with fewer layers. I suck in as I zip up the first dress. It's _tiny_ and black and clings to my skin for dear life. It only reaches to a quarter ways down my thigh. _Jace Wayland I will kill you._ I think. It's a thick black lace with a gold under-fabric. It's soft, but I could do without the push-up bra stitching.

"Clary, you have one on yet?" Jace calls.

I open the door after putting on the strappy black seven inch death trap heels. I grimace as I walk out. I almost trip over the white fluffy fug in the center of the dressing rooms.

Jace's face lights up. He grins smugly at me. "I like it." He says.

I look down and pull the hem down without revealing my boobs in the sweetheart neckline. "Jace, I'm wearing a tube of corset. Is your family really going to find this appropriate? I'll look like a fifty cent hoe." I say.

Jace purses his lips. "Probably not." He says.

My eyes widen. "Then _why on earth_ would you pick this out?" I ask.

"Cause you look hot." He says as if it's a fact. "I can buy you more than one dress, Clare. Please, dear lord, please let me buy you this one. Who knows, you could meet that special someone, and he'll appreciate this, _trust Me_." he says.

I look in the mirror again, and sigh. I could breathe just fine believe it or not, and the dress really brought out the tiny tan and bright hair and eyes that I had. "Alright, I'll get it. But I need to find an actual dress now." I tell him.

Jace grins triumphantly and I go back into the dressing room. I shuck my dress off and throw it over the stall to Jace. The next one I put on is black and white, thick black lace over a white under-fabric. Its cute, and modest. It has a straight neckline, covering up cleavage, but still giving me curves. Its tight down to my mid stomach, then flairs out down to my knees like a bell. I wear the same heels since Jace was set on me getting those, since his family liked those kinds of shoes. I smile and step out of the dressing room.

Jace just nods as if saying 'not bad'. "Its. Nice. It's more for casual dinners and events out and about. I don't think it's quite to the level of elegancy." He says.

I laugh. "Wow, way to be gay Wayland." I giggle.

Jace smiles back. "Magnus taught me these tips just for when I have to take a woman to meet my family. Ridiculous right?" he asks.

I smile. "I think its adorable Magnus is making you stress about something only women stress out about." I say.

Jace gulps. "Clare, you don't know my family." He says. "I left them for a reason." He tells me.

It's my turn to gulp. I take a deep breath and nod. "Alright, let me know when a dress is suitable enough." I say in all seriousness. I take the dress off and slip the new one on. It's a floor length pin straight dress. Its lettuce green with a V-neck style, a single jewel is placed in the center of the chest. Its spaghetti straps and in the back it twists and turns. With every loop, two thick straps of the fabric hold it in place, down to my lower back. There's an eye shaped gap between the back and the top of my butt. It doesn't look that bad, it could be better though.

Jace visibly winces when I walk out. "Yeah, you definitely reached the elegance level." He says.

I furrow my eyebrow. "Then why did you wince?" I ask.

Jace bites his lip. "Because you look like my mother, when she hosted a Christmas party." He says.

I turned red. Great, I looked like my secret love's mother. "I don't like it." I say going back into the dressing room as Jace sighs in relief.

That's three dresses down, only two to go, and I haven't found the one yet. I pull on the next one. Its silver, and much like the bell cut, only it's more flowing. It's a simple silver dress with a black sash. It's almost a bridesmaid dress. This better be good enough. I sigh and walk out.

Jace nods rapidly. "Yes, definite yes." He says. He gets up and walks around me. When he comes to the front he nods again. "This'll have to do. It's the best yet." He says.

I sigh in relief. But there's one more dress. "Jace, there's one more." I say.

Jace practically shoves me back in the dressing room. I pull on the peach colored dress. It's very lightweight. It's a V-neck dress with a string of diamonds covering the cleavage. The fabric of the dress flows causing fabric lines to all meet at the diamond string. It's a long high low dress, the highest part coming to my knees in a V. The back is simple and flows to my mid-calf. I'd have to maybe swap the black heels out, but I think Jace will like the outfit.

Jace smiles at me when I come out. "Beautiful, its great Clary." He breathes.

I twirl a little, a small smile of my own on my face. "Really? Will your family think I'm a hobo?" I ask.

Jace shakes his head and takes one of my hands twirling me around. He watches at the dress flows out elegantly. He steadies me and chuckles. "No, they'll eat you up. That dress will be the talk of the table." He says softly.

He makes my smile bigger. We stand there for a few seconds, enjoying the company of each other, when I step back and clear my throat. "Right, well, I have to get new heels." I say.

Jace nods. "Keep the black ones for the other dress, and we'll find some for this one." He says.

In the end we pick the same strappy heels only in a nude color. The heels make me eyelevel with Jace, and it's quite ironic. It's like he wants them to see me as being with Jace. He isn't shying and holding me in his shadows. It's almost as if he wants me to get the attention instead of him. And let me tell you. It freaks me out a bit. "Are you sure you can buy all of this for me? Even my dad didn't get me this kind of stuff." I say.

Jace smiles sadly at the mention of my father. "It's no problem. I'm sure your dad would love this dress." He says.

Always the charmer.


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter contains things people may be sensitive to, like self harm. Read with caution. Reviews would be amazinggg ;). enjoy, not my best, but its an early update so... :)**

* * *

It's Saturday night, two days after we went on my shopping trip. We've been closer than ever, hugging each other every night before bed and every morning. We talk nonstop, we go around town more. It's one of those things where we act like a couple even though we aren't one. At least not yet, I hope. Jace hasn't gone anything above kissing my hair once. I think we have something going on, but we're both too scared to do anything. Anyway, Jace has been out on his morning kolache run, and he is taking a little while longer.

As if on cue Jace comes through the door with a huge abnormal smile on his face- considering he isn't a morning person. He sighs happily as he sets the bag down at the table and plops into the chair across from me.

Thinking he's in some sort of weird mood, I don't want to ruin it by asking him what the hell he's doing. He looks up at me and starts laughing. _Laughing? This guy's on some serious happy juices._ "What's up?" I ask, acknowledging his happy mood.

He bites his lip and fights of a grin. "I met someone today. She works at the Kolache Place. She wouldn't stop staring at me, and so I asked her why. Long story short, we talked and I really like this girl, and so we have a date tonight." He beams.

My heart drops. I, Clary Adele Fray, have been friend-zoned. All the things we've been doing, he didn't feel the same way. My stomach drops along with my face, and I'm pretty sure I'm turning green with envy and sickness towards the slut that moved in on my man. _Please, to him you're just a helpless girl that he feels like he has to save because of your father. _I think bitterly. If I could taste feelings, I would throw them up and move across town to get away from it. No, wait, that's what I'm doing now. I push back from the table and run to the bathroom. The same bathroom where I realized I loved him. I dry heave in the toilet, since I have nothing to force up.

"Clary?" Jace asks from the door.

I swallow back tears and whisper out a rehearsal for my voice, willing it not to give away the fact that I'm upset. "Go away, it's not pretty in here." I say, adding the last bit just in case he needs persuasion.

"No, I'm coming in anyway. My best friend is sick." He says.

I moan at the term _best friend._ That's all we'll ever be. The door opens and Jace curls me into his arms. I want to cringe away from him. "What the hell was that Red?" he asks.

I swallow, and blink away tears. "It was just the kolaches. I don't feel good." I say. "I'm fine don't worry about me." I insist.

Jace shakes his head. "You didn't get a chance to eat silly girl." he chuckles.

I breathe deeply before I burst into tears. I need him out of the restroom ASAP. "Just _go away_!" I yell at him. "I don't want _you to be here right now_!" I scream and then begin sobbing.

Jace leaps away from me hurt ripping across his face and shredding my heart. "I'm sorry, I just…" he closes the door, cutting off his last words.

I fold over and wait until he goes downstairs to get up. I go into my 'room' which feels even more like a homeless shelter, and curl up on the bed after shutting and locking the door. I cry myself to sleep.

_I'm in a dark green flowing gown, holding flowers. In front of me is Jace in a suit and a dark green tie. He's smiling, lighting up his features. He looks good in dark green; it brings out the brightness of, well, him. But there's a wall between us. More like a wall of flesh, bone, and boobs. A faceless girl with dark brown hair and full pink lips stands wearing a white dress, her bouquet bigger than mine. "Do you, Jace Lightwood take this young, beautiful woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" a voice booms. Jace of course beams and replies with a loud and proud, "I do." Those words shred my whole being. He doesn't know that I've been in love with him. He only has eyes for the woman in front of him, who is saying her "I do," now._

_My mind drifts back and we're in a grand hall. I'm still wearing the dreadful dress, and I'm watching as couples move around on the floor. I have no one to dance with. I'm all alone. "Hey you," Jace tells me, coming to stand by me._

_I smile sadly up at him. When he asks me what's wrong, I take my chances. "I've loved you for a while now." I say simply._

_Jace's face turns angry. "You couldn't be happy, of course. I let you stay in my house for as long as you want, and you ruin my wedding by telling me you love me!" he hisses. "God, I thought you were considerate. It's the least you could have done. Don't bother coming back to the house tonight. I don't think you deserve me anymore." He tells me._

I wake up with tears running down my cheeks. "I'm all alone, I'm all alone, I have no one." I sob.

"What're you talking about, Clary?" Jace asks.

I jump away from him. He's sitting behind me, worry painted across his features. Even worry looks good on him. "N-nothing, it was a dream." I tell him.

He raises an eyebrow. "I know that, Red, but what's wrong? That kind of dream hasn't ever happened to you." He states.

I sigh. "We're growing up. Even you're going to get a job. I'm stuck with the mental capacity of a child! I don't know what life is! You'll grow up, you'll meet an awesome girl, get married, have children, and I'll be living on the streets." I tell him.

He frowns. "You'll live with my family." He says.

"Don't you get it? I'll be in the way." I tell him.

"You'll meet someone too, Clary, you'll fall in love."

Ironic much? "I can't meet anyone. I know they'll all take advantage of me somehow. I haven't been a least bit normal since I was nine." I argue.

Jace just shakes his head and cradles me. "I can show you what life is, Clare, but you won't like it. You're so incredibly lucky. You don't know and fear what happens in the real world. It's a bad place, Red. We work our asses off for money, which we spend all on people's greedy businesses. Everyone wants money, and girls, and fancy things, but they waste their life away stressing about it. You don't. You get to focus on this moment right now. I have to worry about my future. You don't know what life is, so you get to make the most of it as you go. I've heard stories all through my life. People are bad, Clary, we're all monsters. Everyone but you." He tells me softly.

I shrug. "But people will think I'm useless, or they'll take advantage of me." I whisper.

He shakes his head. "Everyone has to worry about that. It's part of feeling things for people. I'm nervous for tonight. She's way better than me. She might think I'm worthless and forget me." he says.

I shake my head. "No she won't. She'll like you instantly. You're too nice, too funny, and God kill me for allowing you to get a big head, but you're pretty damn cute too." I tell him.

Jace laughs. "I'm not perfect, Clare. I may be close, but I'm not. She could find that flaw." He says.

I laugh humorlessly. "But she won't. I've been searching for it myself." I tell him.

He freezes for a moment, then laughs. As if I'm joking. "Look harder, Red." He says.

I sigh. "Point is, you'll move on, and I'm stuck like this." I say. The doorbell rings. I look at the clock and see its quarter until eight. I then notice Jace's apparel. He's dressed in a dress shirt and slacks. "You better answer that." I say sadly.

He grins. "Wish me luck, Clary." He murmurs and rushes out the bedroom. I look around the corner and I watch as Jace hugs his date. She's pretty, with straight black hair and ice blue eyes. Her eyes squint when she giggles and you can practically feel her happiness radiating off of her. Jace offers her his jacket, which she curtsies jokingly, giggling as she accepts. Jace looks truly happy, more so than he is around me. My heart shatters, and I sob quietly, watching as the happy couple walks out of the house, Jace not even glancing back in my direction. If this is how my life will be forever, I want nothing to do with it.

I sit in the bathroom staring up at the top shelf of Jace's medicine cabinet. Inside are refillable razor blades. I bite my lip. _No, Clary, what happened to not giving a fuck? Now just because of a stupid boy you're going to cut yourself._ My brain argues. But it's for so much more than just Jace. I grab a razor blade and breathe in deeply. I test it out on my finger, and it hurts like hell. But I have to do this for my family. I bite down and stroke once across my wrist. _Once for my mother who left me to live her fantasy life instead of facing the truth. She never loved you anyway._

Another cut. _One for Jonathan, it's better to get over the grieving right now than to mourn over the loss of your brother and best friend._

The third cut for my father. _He didn't deserve to die. He was brave. He raised two children on his own. I deserved to feel all the pain that he did. It was my fault._

And I add three slow, deep cuts for myself. _You're a failure. You aren't normal, even Jace said that for you. You'll be forever all alone, no family to help you. Everyone will leave me and grow up, and live life. I'm mental. I'll never know what life is. Everyone says it's hard but try going against the damn flow!_

"Clary! What the hell are you doing?" Jace screams at me as he storms into the bathroom and snatches the razor blade away. He doesn't even grimace as it slices part of his bare chest.

I sit there dumbfounded, like a deer caught in headlights. Jace frowns at me and picks me up. He carries me to the kitchen and sits me on the counter. "I could have stopped you sooner, but I wanted to change out of those god damned clothes." He nearly growls. He has out band aids, gauze, medical tape, and scissors. He uses one of the soft black face towels to wet and put soap on. He scrubs at my arm, lightening up when I whimper. He pat dries it, careful not to irritate the skin anymore. He pinches the skin and presses two gauze pads on it tightly to stop the bleeding. He wraps my wrist firmly with the medical tape. He then glances up at me, his eyes filled with tears and his face showing disappointment and shock. "Why did you do this? I know it was your first time to cut. This will leave scars I hope you know. You can't do this, ever. If you have an issue, come to me. Don't ever resort to cutting when the pain gets too bad. I'm here for you." He says. He kisses my bandaged wrist softly. "I'll help you get through anything." He says.

I just nod. I haven't quite yet found my voice, so I begin with a simple question. "What about your chest?" I ask.

He just shakes his head. "I'm more worried about you." He says. "I can handle a little scrape." He says, offering me a cocky smile.

I smile at him. "Well, I can't," I say as I take the wash cloth, rinse it off and apply more soap. I rub it around on the large cut, and press down firmly just to tease him a little. He sucks in a breath. "You little turd." He chuckles. I dry off the cut and put some gauze around it. Since it's not bad enough for medical tape, I take the gauze off once the bleeding has stopped. I press two bandages- the large ones- over the cut. "There, but I'm not kissing it better." I warn. He just laughs. "So, how was your date?" I ask.

Jace sighs. "There wasn't one. I took the girl home the second we got in the car." He says with a frown.

I furrow my brows. "Jace, when they say take me home, they don't mean it literally." I giggle.

Jace shoves me a little. "No, she didn't ask me to take her home. She started getting all… touchy. I could tell she wanted me for one thing only. I dropped her off and told her I wasn't like that anymore." He says.

I frown. "I'm sorry. I know you really liked her." I say.

Jace's shoulders slump. "Clare, you and I aren't different in the whole relationship department. We're both being used for things, whether it's obvious or not." He explains. He runs a finger over the bandage, taps the counter once with his other fist, and sighs. "I don't want you doing this anymore. It's dangerous and stupid. What got into you?" he asks.

This would be the perfect opportunity to tell him I loved him. Maybe I could just grab him and kiss him, screaming that I need him to love me and to show me what normal life is like. I can almost taste his perfect, tan pink lips. I know he's probably a really good kisser too. He's done it plenty of times before. _Way to go Clare, you practically said your best friend gets around a lot. I mean, he does, but- ugh!_ My mind races my heart for the finish line, and that causes me to suck in a breath. All I can choke out is, "I feel lonely."

Jace's face turns sympathetic. "I miss your father too, but Clary, it'll all get better." He reassures me.

I want to scream in his face that he is missing the point and that he wouldn't get my hints if they hit him in the face. I say. "I can't… You wouldn't understand." I say.

Jace smiles at me smugly. "I think I do understand." He says. He steps closer to me, standing between my legs, and places his hands on my waist. "Clary, I knew why you were acting differently. I was just waiting for you to admit that you… well… I'm not sure to what extent, but I think…" he trails off, his eyes crinkling with a sheepish smile.

I watch as Jace stares into my eyes, trying so hard to figure out if what he's saying is true. When I don't say anything, he steps away from me and sighs. "Well, obviously you don't think of me like that. God, Clary, and all these hints I've been dropping, seriously? You can't figure out that I'm mad for you? I thought you of all people would realize it." He says. He sounds disappointed, frustrated, and embarrassed all wrapped in one tone.

I sit with my mouth hanging open. "Me of all people what Jace? Just how many people are we talking that you've tried to admit your love for?" I burst out.

Jace just squints at me. "That's a low blow of bull shit, Clary. Ever since I stepped a god damn foot into your father's house, I knew I wanted to change. I wanted to change for _you_! I didn't want to be some man whore your dad hired." He says. "It's clear you show little appreciation of my efforts around here. You're not so different from my darling family you'll be meeting soon. In fact, you'll fit in _perfectly_." He seethes.

My mouth snaps shut. "I appreciate it." I say softly, not even sure he heard me.

He whips around just in front of the door and throws his arms up. "Then show it, Clary." He says deadly calm, before walking out of the kitchen door.

* * *

I sit in my room feeling a numbness wash over me. I'm tired, my head hurts, but I can't feel my emotions. It's like I'm so confused and regretful that my emotions have been completely drained out of my body. I roll over, yet again, and try to sleep. Jace likes me, or liked me anyway. I, like I figured, screwed everything out of proportion. Hell, it'd be less hectic if I just grew some…balls… and just kissed him! I'm not sad or angry at him, I just feel hopeless. I'm pissed off at myself, yes, but I only want to go back more than anything.

God, I'm so stupid. There I was cutting myself and bawling, then when Jace helps, I push him away, and worse yet, ignore him. I want so badly for him to feel the same way, and when he admitted it, the most I did was get pissed at him.

I roll over.

I throw the covers off of me and groan. This is useless. I'm never going to get sleep like this. I have to at least talk to him. God, being in love sucked. I pad over to my mirror, throw on my robe, and storm out of my room, crazy hair and smudged makeup and everything.

I flick on Jace's lights after practically knocking his door down. "Get up, now." I order.

Jace sits up from the other side of the bed, on the floor. "Are you mental, Fray?" he demands.

I cross my arms. "We need to talk." I order, and then try to calm down.

Jace warily sits on his bed, patting a space next to him for me. The stubborn girl in me wins, and I sit in his desk chair. "First of all, thank you." I say.

Jace just grunts. "Too late for that, Red, you can't thank me after I tell you to. Doesn't have the same effect, if you haven't noticed." He says. "Sorry, you do realize its five, right?" he asks.

I smile. "Yes, sleeping beauty. I've been watching time go by since eleven." I say.

Jace smirks. "Clary, time only flies when you're having fun." He says.

I roll my eyes. "Will you forgive me or not?" I ask.

Jace shrugs. "Of course… remember? I really like you." He says.

I pick at my sleeve. Underneath are my cuts that I gave myself in some stupid rash decision. "That's… also what we need to talk about." I say. Jace holds up a hand, and begins to cut me off. A word comes out of his mouth before I push through. "I'm in love with you, Jace." I rush out.

Jace's eyes get wide, but then confusion sets in. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asks.

I bite my lip and shrug. "I'm an idiot, it's nothing new." I say.

Jace smiles softly and gets out of his bed, walking over to me slowly. We meet half way and his arms are wound tightly around me. "I guess that makes me the idiot who didn't pick up on _your _hints." He chuckles.

I stand on my tip toes and press his forehead to mine. "We're both completely stupid, but isn't that a part of life?" I ask.

Jace's eyes flutter closed. "If this is life, I'll definitely volunteer to show you what it is." He whispers.

I smile. "Show me." I breathe.

His lips touch mine softly, but he pulls away a bit, teasing. My mouth chases his and they meet again, only harder, and more surely. It's almost as if we're deciding if we want this or not. I smile. Of course we do. He smiles and hums against my mouth playfully. Pulling away he grins again. "I was right. This is life." He says softly.

I breathe deeply. "Yeah. I'm pretty damn glad I barged in here, no matter what the hour." I say.

Jace playfully smacks my shoulder. "Now, go to bed." He says. "By now, I should wake up looking only half as good as I usually do." He says.

I grin. "Oh, Jace, If you were half as funny as you think you are, you'd be twice as funny as you are." I tease.

Jace just squints a little. "My brain doesn't process this early. Try it again another time please." He says.

I giggle. "When does it ever process?" I mutter. I give him a quick hug before I leave, and rush out of his room before he realizes what I said.

* * *

Jace knocks on my door the next afternoon. It's Tuesday, the day I could possibly die of embarrassment. When I open the door for him, he waltzes in the room, a grin on his face. That morning we had established that we were officially together. He throws himself down on the bed with his hands behind his head. "Sup, Clare-Bear?" he asks.

I make a face. "Don't call me that please. And I have _no_ idea what to do. The outfit is fine, but I have to actually look good, too! This is a big deal, since now we have to tell them we're dating." I say warily.

Jace smiles at me, waggling his eyebrows. "I brought you a friend. He can relieve your stress. He's pretty big if I say so myself. People say he's made of money." He suggests.

I roll my eyes. "Jace now is not the time for you to attempt to 'get some'. I have bigger problems." I say.

Jace looks at me with mock innocents. "Thanks for agreeing that L.J was big, no huge, but that's far from what I meant. I know we're dating and all, but can I take a rain check on the hot and heavy stuff?" he asks. I give him and 'are you serious' look, and he puts his hands up in surrender. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a rectangular object. "Meet my friend." He says and throws it to me.

It flutters around a bit, but I manage to catch it. I smile. "Did I mention how much I love you?" I ask. In my hand is a debit card, no doubt filled with thousands of dollars.

Jace hops up from the bed. "Well, let's get a move on! They want us to be there at five!" Jace says taking my hand and pulling me out of the house.

* * *

Three hours later, at four thirty, I stand and examine myself in the mirror. I'm wearing the beautiful peach dress and the nude heels. I wear a charm bracelet that Jace bought me today and a bandage around my wrist. Jace told me to pass it off by saying that my old maid got angry. I made a plan to not say anything snobby. I didn't need an 'I'm richer than you' contest to start. If I was honest, maybe they'd see me dating Jace a good thing because he'll influence me to their ways. I'm honestly freaking out about this. I have manners and I can sit quietly, I'm just afraid that I might burst out in tears over their criticizing. I run a hand through my professionally straightened red hair. It falls like it's been windblown to a minimum. For once, I really like how it looks. I grab a nude clutch and head downstairs to the impatient Jace. He's been 'coaxing' me out of my room by calling up things like "I'm sure you're snobby enough," and "My parents couldn't possibly deserve that much time you're taking for looks, but I do."

When I come downstairs, Jace smiles, takes my hand and we walk out to his red 2013 Mazda RX8. The drive takes fifteen minutes, and we arrive there at around 4:50. This is good, we can be early. Maybe that will impress them. Jace grabs my elbow before I can make my way to the massive house. "Look, Clary, don't listen to anything they say, good or bad. They can get inside your head, and they might not be… civil… tonight. They like to think that everything below them is garbage. They'll pick at you and probably nag you about the brand of jewelry or the shoes or your hair, but they aren't worth it. Don't let it get to you. I'll try to keep them under control, but they'll probably eat you up in there. I'm sorry in advance." He says, kissing my cheek.

I take a deep breath. "Yeah, now I need to throw up." I say, clutching my stomach.

Jace grabs my upper arms and pulls me close to him. "This is the one time a year that I see them. I can't stand them any other day. Get through tonight and we'll have 364 days without them. I swear." He says.

I swallow, and nod. "Let's do this. This could possibly be the worst dinner outing I've ever had. It might be worse than my family eating out with the Prime Minister of Italy, and then accidentally saying 'I love to eat kittens' instead of 'this soup is delicious'." I say.

Jace laughs, his face crinkling up in that adorable way. He holds out his arm and I take it as he leads me up to the house. It's a three story with a castle like curb appeal, with golden stones and a terracotta roof. The inside entrance is grand with a winding staircase into the second floor, a chandelier hanging in the center of the spiral stairs. The hard wood floors are dark as night and perfectly clean. I notice the house is a bit empty. There's no furniture in the entrance, and the office next to it has a single bookshelf with a small desk and chair. The living room has a small sectional and of course a big television, but otherwise, it's bare. Nothing hangs on the walls and there are no family photos. "Wow." Is all I can say.

Jace just breathes deeply. "Yeah, it's almost like it's a ghost house." Jace says.

Suddenly, there's a noise from the room past the living room. A woman appears from around the corner, dressed in a royal blue mermaid dress that flares out from the calves to the ground. It's a sweetheart neckline with jewels outlining the chest. The woman looks nothing like Jace. She has an angular face and a pointed nose, completely smoothed tight over the bone. Her eyes are deep set and a cold version of Jace's eyes. These eyes judge me as she circles me. "Good evening Jace." She says. Even her tone of voice is snobby.

Jace squeezes my hand a bit. "Mother," he says through clenched teeth and a fake smile. She kisses his cheek and when she turns, he wipes it away. "This is my girlfriend, Clarissa." He says.

His mother stands in front of me, the fumes of her perfume getting stuck in my nose. She looks me up and down, once, twice, and again. She circles me again, and then stands in front of Jace. "She'll have to do. I had to get her past the inspection first." His mother drones.

Jace swallows almost nervously. "No need to be rude." He says formally.

His mother just waves him away, and pats my shoulder. I gasp at how cold her skin is. It sends a shiver up my spine. I don't miss the way she wipes her hand on her dress after touching me. Jace scoffs. "I have to tell you, she's gotten better." He says.

My eyebrows rise. "Please tell me you're joking." I say.

Jace shakes his head. "Just wait until they're drunk." He says.

_Oh boy._ I think. We walk into the dining room where the three older couples sit. I'm surprised to see a little girl running around the dining room table chasing a yellow lab. It's the closest thing to normal here. The girl stands up straight, and she looks up at Jace. "Jace!" she exclaims.

Jace lifts her into his arms, kissing her cheek. He swings her around playfully, the dog barking at her feet. "Abby!" he greets with a smile. He carries her much like you would a toddler. Her arms are around Jace's neck. Jace holds her by her thighs. He turns to me. "This is Clary." He says.

Abby smiles at me. "My momma told me that Jace was bringing a girl." she said. "She didn't say she'd be prettier than Me." she huffs.

I laugh. "You must be Jace's sister." I say.

She nods. "Bubba visits me more often when I'm at my Aunt Charlotte's house. He doesn't like our family. So should I not like them too?" she asks Jace.

Jace laughs. "I can't tell you what to do silly girl." he says, making her giggle. Abby has to be at most seven. Her long blonde hair is loose in ringlets down to her lower back. She wears a floral printed white dress with a pink underskirt and a matching pink sash with a big daisy on it. She's barefoot, and I notice little blisters on the backs of her feet. She wears small silver ball earrings and a charm bracelet. Her necklace is a locket with a J and an A engraved in it. "Let's go say hi to everyone." Jace says to Abby.

When he sets her down she takes off after the golden retriever again. Jace sighs and turns to me. "In my defense, I didn't know Abigail would be here. She's like me." he says with a cocky smile.

I giggle. "I can tell." I say as we head into the other room. There are three fancy dressed couples in the room. Mrs. Wayland sits with her hand pressed to a man's chest. I can see the resemblance between him and Jace. The man has gold hair and the same build. The only difference is that he has some white hairs and he's got eyes the color of blue lagoons. The next couple both has dark brown hair. The woman is pale with grey eyes and the man has blue eyes. The other couple is pretty different. The woman has brown hair and brown eyes, and the man has red hair and green eyes. The woman is heavily pregnant. Jace goes over to her first and gives her a hug, he then moves onto his husband, and then the other couple. He just nods to his father.

He returns to my side and smiles lightly at me. "Guys, this is Clary, my girlfriend." He says. He points to the dark hair couple. "This is Aunt Tessa and Uncle William Herondale," he points to the pregnant couple. "And that's Charlotte and Henry Branwell." He says. He then points to his father. "That's my dad Michael Wayland, and my mother Celine Wayland." He introduces.

His father claps loudly. "Alright, shall we head to dinner?" he exclaims. You can tell he's already had a few.

I look hesitantly at Jace as the rest of the family leaves. Charlotte and Henry are the only ones who look back and give a semi-warm smile. Jace smiles and pecks me on the lips gently. "Just go with it babe. The sooner they get drunk, the quicker we can leave!" he exclaims with a chuckle.

I grasp his arm. "It'll get worse won't it? And did you just call me babe?" I ask.

Jace smiles sadly. "it probably will." Then his smile turns cocky. "And, yeah, you're my babe now." He says.

I roll my eyes and let him pull me to the table. He lets me sit in the corner and takes the seat next to me. On my end of the table at the head sits Charlotte, and across from me is Henry. Jace's mother is at the other head, his father sitting next to her. Abby sits on the other side of Jace and across from her are William and Tessa. We all start eating the appetizers and I pick at mine politely. I never really cared for escargot. Jace gives ours to Abby and she gives all of ours to the dog, with a 'Shhhh' gesture to Jace and me. I giggle at her and she grins at me, her two front teeth missing. The entrées are better, your typical turkey with mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and of course, calamari for the snobs. I've almost made it through dinner when. "Clary, dear what happened to your wrist?" Jace's mother says. There's a glint in her eye, like she's trying to slip me up and pick on me. That and she's also on her fifth glass of red wine.

I smile politely. "It's a left over injury to the... the incident two months ago." I say.

Mrs. Herondale, the mom, frowns, but not sincerely. "That must be hard, losing all of your family." She says in pity.

Jace blanches. "Mother. Enough." He says firmly.

She just waves him away. "So tell me Clary, exactly how rich was your father?" she asks.

I wince. We had never cared for money in my family. "He was the President, ma'am, I'm not quite sure." I settle for that answer. I squeeze Jace's leg under the table, and send him a reassuring smile. He just nods once, as if recognizing I'm okay and telling me that he'll back me up.

Jace's mom grins. "So that means he left you with a good amount then?" she asks. "You're the last one he could give his inheritance to anyway. Tell me, _dear_, where is your mother?" she asks.

I swallow. "She left me when I was nine." I say.

Mrs. Herondale laughs. "That's typical. If your father wasn't rich before the Presidency, it's no shock she left him. A man that can't support his family is no man at all." She says proudly as if she were quoting the bible to a Sunday school teacher.

Jace's jaw drops. Tessa steps in. "Sister, I believe you're getting a bit rude. You know how you get when you've had too many." She says her tone no better. "I'm sorry that she's bringing up your dead relatives." She says.

I shift in my seat, willing my eyes not to water. "Thank you, ma'am," I say barely above a whisper.

She just smiles. "I noticed you don't look anything like your father did. I mean, he's handsome. What happened to you?" Tessa asks.

Jace stands up from the table. "That's it! Henrietta, no more wine in the table, bring them all coffee and take away every bottle from this house, immediately!" he calls to the cook.

Henrietta rushes in and picks up all of the glasses, despite the protests. She brings out coffee a few minutes later. Jace closes his eyes and takes deep breathes as he picks at one of his suit jacket buttons. "I'm sorry about my family, Clare." He whispers.

I can only nod and blink rapidly willing the tears to dry up from inside my eyes. Abby whispers something to Jace and he nods his head, smiling. She grins and pushes back from the table. "Aunt Charlotte, I'm going to show Jace and Clary what I got for my birthday." She says politely.

Charlotte catches me before I leave. "In my defense, you're a strong, brave young woman. Jace is lucky to have you." She says with a smile. Henry nods in agreement.

I rush upstairs with Jace guiding me from behind. Abby leads us to her room and then turns. "I don't have anything to show you. You can go to bubba's room if you want. I know you hate my parents. Their meanies." She says sweetly.

I smile at her. "Thank you Abigail." Jace says as he leads me to his room at the other end of the big hallway. He closes his door behind us and we sit on his twin bed. "I haven't been in here since I was 14 and moving out. My mother gave me the money for the house, Aunt Charlotte and Grandma Amatis provided for me." he says. He then looks at me before wrapping his arms tightly around my waist. "I'm sorry, Clare. I didn't know it'd be this bad." He whispers.

I smile sadly, fresh tears in my eyes. "It's fine. I thought it'd be worse. I thought they'd make me move out of your house and stop seeing you." I say.

Jace shakes his head. "If they did, I'd never come back to them. I'd rather lose them than you." He whispers.

I smile and bring our lips together. Nothing innocent and sweet lasts forever though, and soon enough I feel Jace's tongue brush against my lower lip, sucking it into his mouth and biting down softly, tugging at it a tiny bit. I brush my hands from his belt up his stomach, to his chest, around his neck, and into his hair. I tug on the silky strands none too gently and Jace moans. I use the opportunity to run my tongue on the inside of his upper lip. That's when we both start fighting for dominance. Jace squeezes my waist and I automatically surrender.

* * *

It's Wednesday afternoon and today we are leaving to go to Magnus and Alec's for Thanksgiving Day. I'm lounging around in a black tank top, ripped skinny jeans, and of course, my black Uggs with bows running down the backs. "Jace, we're going to miss our flight!" I call up to him. I sigh and continue flipping through the channels. One particular news story catches my eye.

_It's been released that the attackers from the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11__th__ of this year have been released. A group of men from Peshawar, Pakistan proceeded with their plan to attack America's most important government and economic buildings. The men were led by Osama bin Laden. They originally had planned to attack the white house, but the passengers of the hijacked flight took over them resulting in the crash of the Pentagon. Everyone aboard Flight 93 has been confirmed dead as of today. I'm very sorry for these many heartbroken families; these courageous people will be forever remembered._

"Clare," Jace whispers from behind me.

I'm paralyzed with shock and sadness. I turn to Jace, my face not containing tears, but containing anger. "I want that man dead. And I want to help these families. I'm done living in a shadow." I say biting my cheek to hold back tears. Jace wraps his arms around my waist and rocks me back and forth.

"I'll be right by your side. Just please wait until after the holidays, and we'll make sure we contact the families and tell them what we want. It won't be easy, but I believe in you." Jace says. He leads me to the car, and looks over at me, offering a small smile in which I return. "Now, let's go relax, and enjoy the boys and Isabelle." He says.

The tension in the airport is ridiculous. Cops are on every corner and turn of the halls. Security lines are packed, a guard at the entrance of every line. When we get up to security I put everything in the plastic bins and send them through to the detector. I walk through the metal detector, and a second one. Lastly, a woman with fiery red hair smiles gently at me. "We just need to pat you down as extra precaution. We've been doing this ever since," she breaks off and continues her job. She stands up. "Clary?" she asks.

I roll my eyes and nod. "Yeah, yeah, I was the president's daughter, no need to make a fuss." I say.

The woman's eyes brighten up. She grins at me and shakes her head. "Clary, I knew those curls from anywhere. Don't you remember me?" she asks.

I furrow my brows. "Sorry, I wasn't allowed to any of the visitations for my dad." I say cautiously. Jace is behind me.

He rests a hand on my hip and kisses my cheek. "Is everything okay Clare?" he asks.

The woman, Jocelyn glinting on her name tag, grins. I know that name from somewhere. Her hair is familiar to my own also. Something in my mind is screaming at me, but I can't remember to save my life. Suddenly, it hits me like a ton of bricks. I stumble back into Jace's chest, and he wraps his arms around me. "You… What are you doing here! You're supposed to be travelling the world without me. You left me!" I spit out.

Jocelyn's face shows shock. "That's no way to talk to your mother, dear." She says.

* * *

**I'm so terribly sorry about the bad ending, but i'll make it up to you next chapter. Review thoughts PLEASE**


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